Tài liệu Windows 7 Resource Kit- P2 ppt

Fortunately, most IT professionals have experience with the earlier versions of Windows that the Windows 7 operating system is based on, such as Windows XP and Windows Vista.. note Windo

C H A P T E R 1

Overview of Windows 7 Improvements

n Windows 7 Improvements by Chapter 3

n Windows 7 Editions 28

n Choosing Software and Hardware 33

n Summary 34

n Additional Resources 35

Windows 7 is a complex operating system with thousands of features Understanding

it thoroughly can require years of study Fortunately, most IT professionals have experience with the earlier versions of Windows that the Windows 7 operating system is based on, such as Windows XP and Windows Vista This chapter, which assumes that you have basic familiarity with the features of Windows Vista, describes the most significant improvements that are not security related and are not discussed elsewhere in this book, the different editions of Windows 7, and the hardware requirements for Windows 7

note This high-level chapter is designed to quickly give IT professionals a broad view of changes in Windows 7 However, it is also suitable for less-technical executive staff who need to understand the new technologies.

For an overview of Windows 7 security improvements, read Chapter 2, “Security in Windows 7 ”

Windows 7 Improvements by Chapter

Windows 7 has hundreds of improvements over earlier Windows client operating systems This chapter provides a very high-level overview of those features, focusing

on features that are not discussed in depth elsewhere in this resource kit Table 1-1 lists some of the key improvements to Windows 7 that will be of interest to IT professionals and indicates the chapters in this book that provide detailed information about each

TABlE 1-1 Windows 7 Improvements

Starter Group Policy Objects (GPOs) 14

Device Stage and other device experience improvements 17

Using Powercfg to evaluate energy efficiency 17

note Windows Vista and Windows 7 include significant security improvements pared with previous versions of Windows The changes are so numerous that this resource kit dedicates a separate chapter (Chapter 2) to describing them.

com-This book does not cover features that are primarily used in home environments, such as parental controls, games, Windows Media Player, Windows Media Center, and so on

User Interactions

For users, the most important improvements to Windows 7 will be the visible changes to the user interface This section discusses how the Windows 7 user interface has changed As you read this section, consider which changes will require end-user training or changes to your desktop management settings prior to deployment

Taskbar

As shown in Figure 1-1, the Windows 7 taskbar has changed significantly First, the taskbar

is taller, although this default setting can be configured differently if you want Second, Windows 7 displays large icons for running applications instead of the small application icons and the window’s title used in previous versions of Windows This setting is also configurable;

users can choose to display window titles along with the icon

FIgURE 1-1 The new taskbar displays icons instead of application titles and supports pinning applications

The Quick Launch toolbar has been removed Instead, users can now pin applications directly to the taskbar When an application is pinned to the taskbar, its icon always appears

on the taskbar as if the application were running Users can start the application by clicking the icon

A new feature called Aero Peek in Windows 7 allows users to hover their cursor over the far-right side of the Windows Taskbar to make all open windows transparent so that users can see their desktop This feature makes gadgets, which can now be placed anywhere on the desktop, more useful Users can also preview an open window or running application by hovering over a taskbar item to display a thumbnail image of the item and then hovering over the thumbnail image

Jump Lists

Users can now open a Jump List by right-clicking an application icon on the taskbar or by selecting an application icon on the Start menu As shown in Figure 1-2, Jump Lists provide access to frequently used functions within an application If you right-clicked an application in previous versions of Windows, you typically would see only the standard menu items, includ-ing Maximize, Restore, Minimize, and Move In Windows 7, applications can add application-specific tasks to the window’s shortcut menu

For example, the Windows Media Player Jump List allows users to play all music or resume the last playlist without first opening Windows Media Player Any application designed for Windows 7 can take advantage of Jump Lists, so the feature will become more useful over time

FIgURE 1-2 Jump Lists provide access to frequently used applications and files

Notification area

In versions of Windows prior to Windows 7, the notification area (the portion of the taskbar closest to the clock) could become crowded with unwanted icons added by different applica-tions In Windows 7, only Network, Action Center (which replaces the Security Center found

in Windows Vista), and battery (on mobile computers) icons appear unless users specifically allow other icons to appear Figure 1-3 shows the new notification area with the Action Center icon selected

FIgURE 1-3 The notification area is simplified

Mouse Gestures

To improve user productivity, Windows 7 includes two new mouse gestures:

n Aero Snap Users can drag windows to the top of the screen to maximize them or to

the left or right of the screen to size the window to take up half the screen The title bar still includes buttons for Minimize, Maximize, and Close Resizing the window by dragging a corner of it to the top or bottom of the screen automatically increases the vertical size of the window to full screen

n Aero Shake To reduce distraction and clutter caused by background applications,

users can minimize all other windows by shaking a window with the mouse Shaking the window again restores background windows to their previous position

Despite the names, both gestures work whether or not Aero is enabled

If the user pauses while flipping through the applications, it will briefly display the window

FIgURE 1-4 When Aero is enabled, the Alt+Tab display shows thumbnails of each window

Keyboard Shortcuts

To reduce the time required to complete common tasks, Windows 7 supports the keyboard shortcuts listed in Table 1-2

TABlE 1-2 New Windows 7 Keyboard Shortcuts

I+up arrow Maximizes the current window

I+down arrow Restores or minimizes the current window

I+left arrow Snaps the current window to the left half of your screen

I+right arrow Snaps the current window to the right half of your screen

I+Shift+left arrow Moves the current windows to the left screen when running

dual monitors

I+Shift+right arrow Moves the current windows to the right screen when

running dual monitors

I+Home Minimizes or restores all but the current window

I+T Focuses on the taskbar so you can then use the arrow keys

and Enter to select an item Pressing this shortcut again will cycle through items Windows Key+Shift+T cycles backward

I+Tab Cycles through your open applications in 3D Alt+Tab Cycles through your open applications in 2D

I+spacebar (hold keys) Peeks at the desktop

I+D Shows the desktop

I+M Minimizes the current windows

I+G Brings your gadgets to the top of your applications

I+P Shows presentation and external display options

I+U Opens the Ease Of Access Center

I+X Opens the Mobility Center, enabling quick access to fea-tures like WiFi

I+[a number key 1–5] Starts the program from the taskbar that corresponds to

that number key For example, pressing I+1 starts the first application on the taskbar

I+L Locks your PC back to the logon screen

Tablet pC Improvements

Tablet PCs are portable computers that enable input using a special pen With this pen, users can write (or draw) directly on the Tablet PC display Before Windows Vista, Microsoft provided Tablet PC features only with Windows XP Tablet PC Edition With Windows 7, Tablet PC features are included with the Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Enterprise, and Windows 7 Ultimate operating systems

Windows 7 includes several improvements to the pen interface used by Tablet PCs writing recognition is improved The new Math Input Panel allows users to enter mathemati-cal expressions, which can then be used by applications Text prediction improves text entry when using the soft keyboard, and it learns your vocabulary over time Windows 7 supports handwriting recognition in more languages, including Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Portuguese (Portugal), Polish, Russian, Romanian, Catalan, Serbian Latin, Croatian, Serbian-Cyrillic, and Czech As with Windows Vista, Windows 7 continues to support English (U S ), English (U K ), German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Japanese, and Korean

Hand-To configure or disable Tablet PC features, use the Group Policy settings located within both Computer Configuration and User Configuration under Policies\Administrative Templates

\Windows Components\Tablet PC

Touch Interface

Windows 7 includes an improved touch interface for computers with touch screens While Tablet PCs use a pen for input, the touch interface uses a finger for input Initial capabilities include:

n Selecting text by dragging your finger across it

n Scrolling up and down by dragging the screen or scrolling in any direction by dragging the screen with two fingers

n Right-clicking by either holding one finger on an icon for a moment or by holding a finger and tapping with a second finger

n Zooming by using two fingers to pinch the screen

n Rotating pictures by moving two fingers in a rotating motion

n Flipping pages by flicking a finger across the screen

n Dragging up on the taskbar to get a Jump List With appropriate hardware, these new features will make Windows 7 more intuitive to use They have the potential to improve user productivity on mobile computers by reducing the need to use a keyboard

Libraries function like folders but display files of a specific type from multiple computers For example, you might create a library to store all employee training videos from multiple serv-ers within your organization Users can then open the library and access the videos without knowing which server stores the individual files Libraries can be accessed from the Start menu, Windows Explorer, and the Open and Save dialog boxes

Libraries in Windows 7 are similar to search folders in Windows Vista However, users can save files to a library, whereas search folders are read-only Files saved to a library are stored

in a configurable physical folder Windows 7 automatically indexes libraries for faster viewing and searching

For example, the default Windows Explorer view shows the Documents library instead of the user’s Documents folder As the Documents Properties dialog box shows in Figure 1-5, the Documents library includes both the user’s Documents folder and the Public Documents folder The user’s Documents folder is configured as the save location, so any new files will be placed in the user’s Documents folder By clicking the Include A Folder button, users can add more folders in the Documents library

FIgURE 1-5 The Documents library properties

Search Improvements

Windows 7 includes improved search capabilities that use a more intelligent algorithm to sort search results Search results show portions of the document and highlight words in the search, as shown in Figure 1-6 These highlights help users find the documents, messages, and images they are looking for more quickly Windows 7 also makes it easier to add filters, enabling users to search specific folders easily

FIgURE 1-6 The Search function now highlights keywords in the results

Search Federation

Search Federation enables users to search computers across their network and the Internet easily, including Microsoft SharePoint sites Search Federation supports open-source Search Federation providers that use the OpenSearch standard This enables users (or IT professionals via Group Policy) to add search connectors that connect to Web sites on an intranet or the Internet As of the time of this writing, searching the Internet for “Windows 7 Search Federa-tion providers” returns pages that allow users to install search connectors for many popular Web sites quickly Figure 1-7 shows three search connectors installed for MSDN Channel 9, MSDN, and Microsoft TechNet and displays results for searching the TechNet Web site

FIgURE 1-7 Search connectors enable users to search Web sites from Windows Explorer

action Center

Windows Vista includes the Security Center, which provides users with information about actions they might need to take to keep their computer protected For example, Windows Vista uses the Security Center to warn the user that Windows Defender or Windows Firewall is disabled

Windows 7 replaces the Security Center with the Action Center, as shown in Figure 1-8 The Action Center notifies the user of the same types of security issues as the Security Center

In addition, the Action Center notifies users of issues that are not security related, such as a problem performing a scheduled backup

The Action Center consolidates alerts from the following Windows features:

n Network Access Protection (NAP)

n Backup and Restore

n Recovery

n User Account Control (UAC)

FIgURE 1-8 The Action Center consolidates system messages

XML paper Specification

Windows Vista and Windows 7 include built-in support for the new XML Paper Specification (XPS) XPS is a document format that can be created from any printable document and then easily shared with almost any platform XPS provides similar capabilities to the Adobe PDF format, but XPS has the advantage of being built into the operating system

Windows 7 includes an improved version of the XPS Viewer, as shown in Figure 1-9, to enable you to open and read XPS-based documents without the tool that was used to create the document Users can also use the improved XPS Viewer to sign XPS documents digitally

If an organization deploys Windows Rights Management Services (RMS), users can also limit access to who can open and edit XPS documents using the improved XPS Viewer

FIgURE 1-9 The XPS Viewer

Windows Internet Explorer 8

Windows 7 includes Windows Internet Explorer 8, a high-performance Web browser designed

to help protect the user from Internet security threats Although Internet Explorer 8 can be installed on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, it includes an important security improve-ment called Protected Mode that works only on Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 Protected Mode runs Internet Explorer with minimal privileges, helping to pre-vent malicious Web sites from making permanent changes to a computer’s configuration

performance

Although some features of Windows 7, such as Aero, require high-performance hardware, Windows 7 is designed to perform similarly to earlier versions of Windows when run on the same hardware and can frequently outperform earlier versions of Windows The following sections describe technologies designed to improve Windows 7 performance

ReadyBoost

Windows ReadyBoost, originally introduced with Windows Vista, uses a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive or a secure digital (SD) memory card to cache data that would otherwise need to be read from the much slower hard disk Windows Vista uses SuperFetch technology

to determine which data to cache automatically After you insert a USB flash drive or SD card greater than 256 megabytes (MB) in size, Windows Vista checks the performance to determine whether the device is fast enough to work with ReadyBoost (Flash devices designed for ReadyBoost display the phrase “Enhanced

for Windows ReadyBoost” on the package, but other devices can also work ) If the device is fast enough, Windows Vista gives the user the option to enable ReadyBoost Alternatively, users can enable ReadyBoost manually on compatible devices by viewing the drive’s properties

Windows 7 improves on ReadyBoost by adding support for using up to eight flash devices simultaneously For example, you can enable ReadyBoost on both a USB key and an SD card, and Windows 7 will cache to both devices Although Windows Vista can create a cache of

4 gigabytes (GB) or less, Windows 7 can create larger caches

If you remove the flash memory, ReadyBoost will be disabled, but the computer’s stability will not be affected because the files stored on the flash memory are only temporary copies Data on the flash memory is encrypted to protect privacy

BranchCache

BranchCache stores local copies of files on an organization’s intranet and transfers them to other computers in the local branch so they do not have to be transferred across the wide area network (WAN) In this way, BranchCache can reduce WAN utilization and increase the responsiveness of network applications BranchCache can cache files from shared folders and Web servers, but only if the server is running Windows Server 2008 R2

BranchCache can work in two different modes: Hosted Cache (which requires a computer running Windows Server 2008 R2 at each branch office) and Distributed Cache (in which clients within a branch office use peer-to-peer networking to exchange cached files) Hosted Cache provides better performance, but branches that do not have a computer running Windows Server 2008 R2 can use Distributed Cache

Solid-State Drives

Windows 7 includes several improvements to performance with solid-state drives (SSDs), such

as flash drives:

n Disk defragmentation is disabled because it is unnecessary in SSDs

n Windows 7 uses the SSD TRIM command to erase data that is no longer used, which

reduces the time required to reuse the same location

n Windows 7 formats the SSD differently

Remoteapp and Desktop Connections

After connecting to Terminal Servers running Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 7 users have

a much more integrated experience Not only is the user interface more full featured, but remote applications can be launched directly from the Start menu When they run, they are practically indistinguishable from local applications, and this makes centralized application management and thin client architectures easier to enable and use

Remote Desktop in Windows 7 supports using the Aero user interface and multiple tors, which provides an experience more like working on the local computer Multimedia

moni-works better in Remote Desktop, too, because Windows Media Player can now play video ter across remote desktop connections, and Remote Desktop includes support for microphones Users can print to a local printer without the need to install printer drivers on the server

bet-New powerCfg –energy Option

The Powercfg utility has been enhanced in Windows 7 with a new command-line option (–energy) to enable the detection of common energy-efficiency problems These problems can include excessive processor utilization, increased timer resolution, inefficient power policy settings, ineffective use of suspend by USB devices, and battery capacity degradation This new Powercfg option can help IT professionals validate a system prior to deployment, provide support to users who encounter battery life or power consumption issues, and more In ad-dition, Power users can use this option to diagnose energy-efficiency problems on their own systems

process Reflection

When applications failed in Windows Vista (and earlier versions of Windows), users waited while diagnostics collected information about the failure This delay made the failure even more frustrating to users by reducing their productivity further In Windows 7, Process Reflec-tion enables Windows to recover a failed process and continue running while diagnostics collects information about the state of the failed application

Mobility

More and more new computers are laptops or Tablet PCs, which are used very differently from desktop computers Mobile PCs must manage their power effectively, and the user should be able to easily monitor power usage and battery levels Mobile PCs are also often used in meetings, which requires them to be able to easily connect to wireless networks and then find and use network resources The following sections provide a high-level overview of Windows 7 mobility improvements

Improved Battery Life

In Windows Vista and earlier versions of Windows, services could be configured to start automatically, in which case they started at the same time as the operating system or with

a delayed start In Windows 7, these options are still available In addition, services can be started or stopped via triggers

In earlier versions of Windows, after services are started, they need to schedule sor time based on the system clock In other words, a service needs to be activated after a specific number of milliseconds have passed, even if the service doesn’t have any work to do

proces-In Windows 7, services can be activated by a variety of different trigger events, including an incoming network communication or a user event This allows a computer’s processor to be in

an idle state more often, which increases battery life

Windows 7 is more efficient when playing standard-definition video DVDs by using less processing power and spinning the disk more efficiently When travelling, mobile users will be more likely to watch an entire DVD on a single battery charge

adaptive Display Brightness

Windows 7 automatically dims the display brightness after a period of inactivity This enables Windows 7 to reduce battery consumption without the full impact of going into Sleep mode Adaptive Display Brightness intelligently responds to user activity, too For example, if Adap-tive Display Brightness dims the display after 30 seconds of inactivity and the user immediate-

ly moves the mouse to brighten the display, Adaptive Display Brightness will wait 60 seconds before again dimming the display

View available Networks

Mobile users frequently need to connect to WiFi, mobile broadband, virtual private network (VPN), and dial-up networks In Windows 7, users can connect to wireless networks with two clicks—one click on the network icon in the notification area and a second click on the net-work Figure 1-10 shows the View Available Networks (VAN) list

FIgURE 1-10 The View Available Networks list

Smart Network power

Wired network connections use power when they’re enabled, even if a network cable isn’t connected Windows 7 offers the ability to turn off power to the network adapter automati-cally when the cable is disconnected When the user connects a cable, power is restored

automatically This feature offers the power-saving benefits of disabling a wired network nection while still allowing users to connect easily to wired networks

con-VpN Reconnect

Internet connectivity for mobile users is often unreliable For example, wireless broadband users who take a train from Boston to New York can have Internet connectivity for most of the trip However, they might lose their Internet connection when passing through tunnels or rural areas

This intermittent connectivity is especially frustrating when the user is connected to a VPN

In Windows Vista and earlier versions of Windows, users had to reconnect to the VPN ally when their Internet connection returned With VPN Reconnect, Windows 7 will detect that it is once again connected to the Internet and automatically reconnect a VPN server run-ning Windows Server 2008 R2

manu-Directaccess

VPN Reconnect makes VPN connections easier to maintain, but users still need to establish the initial VPN connection Typically, this process requires the user to provide a user name and password and then wait several seconds (or even minutes) while the VPN connection is established and the health of the computer is checked Because of this nuisance, mobile us-ers often skip connecting to the VPN and instead use only resources available on the public Internet

However, mobile users who do not connect to their internal network are not taking vantage of their internal resources As such, they are not as productive as they could be In addition, their computers will not receive security or Group Policy updates, which can make the computers vulnerable to attack and allow them to fall out of compliance

ad-DirectAccess automatically connects Windows 7 to the internal network whenever the mobile computer has Internet access It is very similar to a VPN in function However, DirectAccess does not prompt the user in any way—the connection is entirely automatic To the user, internal resources are always available To IT professionals, mobile computers can be managed as long

as they have an Internet connection, without ever requiring the user to connect to a VPN DirectAccess has other benefits, including the ability to work through firewalls that restrict VPN access and the ability to provide end-to-end authentication and encryption between cli-ent computers and destination servers on the internal network DirectAccess requires a server running Windows Server 2008 R2

Wake on Wireless LaN

Users can save energy by putting computers into Sleep mode when they’re not in use With earlier versions of Windows, users and IT professionals could use Wake on LAN (WOL) to wake the computer so that it could be managed across the network However, WOL works only when computers are connected to wired networks Wireless computers in Sleep mode cannot

be started or managed across the network, allowing them to fall behind on configuration changes, software updates, and other management tasks

Windows 7 adds support for Wake on Wireless LAN (WoWLAN) With WoWLAN, Windows 7 can reduce electricity consumption by enabling users and IT professionals to wake computers connected to wireless networks from Sleep mode remotely Because users can wake comput-ers to access them across the network, IT professionals can configure them to enter the low-power Sleep mode when not in use

Reliability and Supportability

Although end users tend to focus on changes to the user interface, IT professionals benefit most from improvements to reliability and supportability These types of improvements can reduce the number of support center calls and improve the efficiency of IT departments sig-nificantly In addition, Windows 7 can improve users’ satisfaction with their IT departments by reducing the time spent solving computer problems The following sections describe impor-tant reliability and supportability improvements to Windows 7

Starter Group policy Objects

Starter Group Policy Objects (GPOs) in Windows 7 are collections of preconfigured trative templates that IT professionals can use as standard baseline configurations to create a live GPO They encapsulate Microsoft best practices, containing recommended policy settings and values for key enterprise scenarios IT professionals also can create and share their own Starter GPOs based on internal or industry regulatory requirements

adminis-Group policy preferences

Group Policy preferences extend the reach of what Group Policy can manage and how tings are applied With Group Policy preferences, system administrators can manage Windows features that are not Group Policy aware, such as mapped network drives and desktop shortcuts

set-Windows 7 and set-Windows Server 2008 R2 now include Group Policy preferences by default (In Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, you had to separately download this feature to use it ) Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 also contain new Group Policy preferences for flexible power management and more advanced task scheduling Group Policy prefer-ences can also be used to deploy registry settings for managing applications System adminis-trators can even create custom Group Policy preference extensions

Unlike traditional Group Policy settings, Group Policy preferences are not enforced Rather, they are treated as defaults that users might be able to change Preferences can be config-ured to reapply preferred settings every time standard Group Policies are applied (if the user has made a change) or to use the preferred setting as a baseline configuration that the user can permanently change This gives IT professionals the flexibility to strike an optimal balance between control and user productivity Group Policy preferences provide additional flexibility

by enabling system administrators to configure unique settings for different groups of users

or PCs within a single GPO without requiring Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) filters

URL-Based Quality of Service

System administrators today prioritize network traffic based on application, port number, and IP address However, new initiatives such as software-as-a-service introduce the need to prioritize network traffic in new ways Windows 7 provides the ability to implement Quality of Service (QoS) based on a URL URL-based QoS is configurable through Group Policy, giving IT professionals the capabilities they need to tune their networks more finely

Resource Monitor

Windows 7 includes an enhanced version of Resource Monitor that displays processor, memory, disk, and network performance data in a format that provides rapid access to a great deal of information that you can use to easily delve into process-specific details As shown in Figure 1-11, Resource Monitor is a powerful tool for identifying which applications, services, and other processes are consuming resources During the troubleshooting process,

IT professionals can use this information to quickly identify the root cause of problems related

to unresponsive computers and applications

FIgURE 1-11 Resource Monitor provides detailed information into application activities

Windows powerShell 2.0

To enable IT professionals to automate complex or monotonous tasks, Windows 7 includes

an improved version of the Windows scripting environment—Windows PowerShell 2 0 Unlike traditional programming languages designed for full-time developers, Windows PowerShell

is a scripting language designed to be used by systems administrators Because Windows PowerShell can use WMI, scripts can perform almost any management task an IT professional would want to automate

Some of the tasks for which IT professionals use Windows PowerShell 2 0 with Windows 7 include:

n Creating a System Restore point remotely prior to troubleshooting

n Restoring a computer to a System Restore point remotely to resolve a problem that cannot be easily fixed

n Querying for installed updates remotely

n Editing the registry using transactions, which ensures that a group of changes are implemented

n Remotely examining system stability data from the reliability database Windows 7 includes the Windows PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE), as shown in Figure 1-12 The Windows PowerShell ISE enables IT professionals to develop scripts without installing additional tools

FIgURE 1-12 The Windows PowerShell 2 0 ISE

Fault-Tolerant Heap

Many application failures are caused by memory mismanagement on the part of the plication Although these failures are the application’s responsibility, Windows 7 includes a

ap-fault-tolerant heap The heap is the portion of memory that applications use to store data

temporarily while the application is running, typically in the form of variables The tolerant heap in Windows 7 minimizes the most common causes of heap corruption and can significantly reduce the number of application failures

fault-Troubleshooting

Built-in diagnostics and failure-recovery mechanisms in Windows Vista minimize user impact when problems occur, reducing support costs and improving productivity for users and sup-port professionals The following sections describe improvements to Windows Vista that will make it easier for users to solve their own problems and for IT departments to troubleshoot the more challenging problems that still require IT support

Windows Troubleshooting platform

Windows Vista includes several advanced diagnostic and troubleshooting tools designed

to allow users to resolve many common problems without calling the IT support center Windows 7 expands these tools by introducing the Windows Troubleshooting Platform The Windows Troubleshooting Platform includes user-friendly tools that can diagnose and often resolve problems automatically in the following categories:

n Internet Explorer performance

n Internet Explorer safety

n Shared folders

n System maintenance

n Windows Media Player DVD

n Windows Media Player library

n Windows Media Player settings

n Windows UpdateFigure 1-13 shows how the Search And Indexing troubleshooting pack is able to diagnose

a problem finding files that had multiple root causes

FIgURE 1-13 A troubleshooting pack resolving a complex problem automatically

The Windows Troubleshooting Platform is based on Windows PowerShell, so IT ments can create their own troubleshooting packs for internal applications Besides simplify-ing troubleshooting for users, administrators can use troubleshooting tools to speed complex diagnostic and testing procedures To enable this, administrators can run troubleshooting tools interactively from a command prompt, or silently, using an answer file Administrators can run troubleshooting packs locally or remotely

depart-problem Steps Recorder

One of the biggest challenges with troubleshooting is reproducing the problem If IT fessionals cannot duplicate the problem, they can’t diagnose it Problem Steps Recorder, as shown in Figure 1-14, is a tool that users can run to document thoroughly the circumstances leading to a problem Users begin recording, recreate the problem, and then send the result-ing HTML report to the IT professional

pro-FIgURE 1-14 The Problem Steps Recorder

The HTML report contains a series of screenshots showing exactly what the user did, including each keypress and mouse click In addition, users can add comments to describe

a step in further detail Figure 1-15 shows one step from a sample Problem Steps Recorder report Notice that the top of the page describes exactly where the user is clicking

FIgURE 1-15 A step from a sample Problem Steps Recorder

program Compatibility Troubleshooter

Windows 7 improves on the application compatibility features in Windows Vista If an application fails to install because it does not recognize the version of Windows, Windows 7 prompts the user to attempt to reinstall the application During the next attempt, Windows 7 will provide a different version number that might allow the application to install properly In this way, Windows 7 is even more compatible with applications created for earlier versions of Windows, minimizing the time IT professionals need to put into planning and troubleshooting applications

Folder Redirection and Offline Files

Folder Redirection and Offline Files provide a convenient way for users to access files stored

on a central server when not connected to the corporate network Windows 7 reduces the initial wait times when connecting to offline folders and enables IT professionals to manage Folder Redirection and Offline Files more effectively

With Windows 7, IT professionals can use Group Policy to prevent specific types of files (such as music files) from being synchronized to the server In addition, because Offline Files operates in a “usually offline” mode when users are not connected to the same LAN as the central server, performance is improved for branch office and remote access scenarios IT pro-fessionals can also control when offline files are synchronized with the server, set up specific time intervals for synchronization, block out other times for purposes of bandwidth manage-ment, and configure a maximum “stale” time after which files must be resynchronized

Roaming User profiles

In Windows Vista and earlier versions of Windows, roaming user profiles were synchronized from the client computer to the server only when the user logged off In this scenario, users who disconnected from the network without logging off (a common technique for mobile users) would not have their roaming user profile synchronized

In Windows 7, roaming user profiles can be synchronized from the client to the server while the user is still logged on As a result, a user can stay logged on to a computer, log on

to a second computer, and have recent changes to their user profile reflected on the second computer

System Restore

Administrators can use System Restore to return Windows to an earlier configuration System Restore is vital for resolving complex problems such as malware installations, but restoring configuration settings to an earlier state can cause applications that were installed since the restore point was made to fail

In Windows 7, System Restore has been improved to display a list of applications that might be affected by returning to an earlier restore point This list enables administrators to assess the potential problems before performing the restoration After the restoration, the administrator can test the potentially affected applications and reinstall them if required to return the user to a fully functional state

Windows Recovery Environment

During setup, Windows 7 automatically creates a second partition and installs Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) on it If Windows 7 is unable to start, the user can open Windows RE and attempt to use the included troubleshooting tools to resolve the problem Often, Startup Repair (one of the troubleshooting tools included with WinRE) can automati-

cally fix the problem preventing Windows from starting, allowing the user to fix the problem quickly without reinstalling Windows or restoring a backup

Unified Tracing

Unified Tracing provides a single tool for isolating problems in the Windows 7 networking stack It collects event logs and captures packets across all layers of the networking stack and groups the data into activities

Deployment

Like Windows Vista, Windows 7 supports image-based deployment without the need for third-party tools IT professionals can completely automate deployment, inject custom driv-ers into images, install applications and operating system updates prior to deployment, and support multiple languages and hardware configurations Windows 7 includes several new deployment features, which are described in the sections that follow In addition to these changes, Windows Setup now automatically creates a partition for BitLocker (as described

in Chapter 2) and for Windows RE (as described in Chapter 29, “Configuring Startup and Troubleshooting Startup Issues”)

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010

MDT 2010, the next version of the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit solution accelerator, will enable rapid deployment of the Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1), Windows Server 2008, Windows XP SP3, and Windows 2003 SP2 operating systems MDT provides unified tools, scripts, and documentation for desktop and server deployment using an integrated deployment console called the Deployment Workbench Using MDT to deploy Windows can help reduce your deployment time, facilitate the creation and management of standardized desktop and server images, provide improved security, and facilitate ongoing configuration management

Windows automated Installation Kit 2.0

The Windows AIK 2 0, the next version of the Windows Automated Installation Kit, includes new deployment tools and updated documentation for building custom solutions for deploy-ing Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista SP1, and Windows Server 2008 The Windows AIK 2 0 also forms the foundation for MDT 2010 to simplify automating the task of Windows deployment Some of the new tools included in the Windows AIK 2 0 include:

n Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) tool

n User State Migration Tool (USMT) 4 0

n Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) 3 0

n Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) 1 2

Windows pE 3.0

The updated version of Windows PE is based on the Windows 7 kernel rather than the Windows Vista kernel A new tool, DISM, replaces Pkgmgr, PEImg, and Intlcfg Windows PE 3 0 also inherits support for user interface elements, such as Aero Snap, from Windows 7 as described in the mouse gesture section

Deployment Image Servicing and Management Tool

The new Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) tool provides a central place for IT professionals to build and service Windows images offline DISM combines the func-tionality of many different Windows Vista tools, including International Settings Configuration (IntlCfg exe), PEImg, and Package Manager (Pkgmgr exe) With DISM, IT professionals can update operating system images; add optional features; add, enumerate, and remove third-party device drivers; add language packs and apply international settings; and maintain an inventory of offline images that includes drivers, packages, features, and software updates You can also use DISM to upgrade a Windows image during deployment, such as from the Windows 7 Professional to the Windows 7 Ultimate Edition, which can help reduce the num-ber of separate images you need to maintain for your organization

For example, your organization might create a custom Windows image file using the wim format You could use the DISM tool to mount the custom image, examine the drivers included with the image, add custom files, save the updated state of the image, and then unmount the image

User State Migration Tool

The User State Migration Tool (USMT) has been updated to add a hard-link migration feature that migrates files from one operating system to another on the same PC without physically moving those files on the disk, providing significant performance gains compared with previ-ous methods that move files In addition, the USMT for Windows 7 enables offline migrations and provides support for Volume Shadow Copy so that IT professionals can migrate files that are being used by an application at the time of file capture You can also migrate domain accounts without a domain controller being available, which will simplify many upgrade scenarios

note For consumers, small offices, and one-off upgrades, Windows Easy Transfer provides a simple way for users to transfer files and settings from an earlier version of Windows to a new computer running Windows 7 Windows 7 improves the performance of Windows Easy Transfer by not stopping the transfer to prompt the user to handle prob- lems copying files as with Windows Vista and earlier versions of Windows, users need to reinstall applications on the new computer However, Windows 7 makes the process of reinstalling applications easier by inventorying installed programs on the old computer and presenting that information in a post-migration report that includes links provided by independent software vendors to product information, software updates, and support.